The American Soybean Association stated today that news reports about "mystery DNA" in Roundup Ready® Soybeans is nothing more than old news. The information was originally published as early as May 28, 2000, on page 5 of Issue 69 of the London Sunday Herald. At that time, regulatory authorities in the European Union were notified about the extra base pairs by Monsanto technical and regulatory staff. Subsequently, none of the EU states expressed any concern with the discovery or its impact on food safety.

"We have known about this genetic information for more than fourteen months," said ASA President Bart Ruth, a producer from Rising City, Neb. "This is nothing more than the latest attempt by anti-biotechnology organizations to try to cast doubts and create concerns where none actually exist."

ASA began receiving calls today following a story published in the New York Times that claimed Belgian scientists had discovered "mysterious" DNA in Roundup Ready soybeans.

In a follow-up story published today by Reuters News Service, the Belgian scientists who conducted the research said all data concerning the safety of crops from Roundup Ready soybean varieties remain valid, and that the gene sequence in the product is stable and will not lead to any unknown or unpredictable problems. One of the scientists strongly refuted assertions by an environmental group that his research indicated that Roundup Ready soybeans are unsafe.

It is well known and reported in scientific literature that some type of rearrangement occurs to accommodate a new gene during insertion through biotechnology. The same or more severe rearrangements take place in conventional soybean breeding.

Soybean seed improved through biotechnology allows farmers to use more environmentally friendly farming practices. Biotechnology also can help reduce world hunger by increasing productivity and reducing crop losses.